Performance Matters - The Healthy, High-Performing Cultures Issue - 30

Talent
Demand
If you want a clear picture of the key
roles and competencies that will activate
your organization's business strategy,
first take stock of forces that are driving
talent demand-such as customer needs,
changing industry dynamics, or new
strategic initiatives. Also, note the critical
people, leadership requirements, and
performance standards needed to support
the organization's strategic objectives.
To further understand talent demands,
analyze the organization's plans as well
as external trends for potential impacts
to future business. In alignment with your
organization's values, identify and define
the types of talent needed to ensure a
capable and diverse organization. Identify
critical capabilities needed to execute the
business plan; then, define the roles and
competencies necessary to create value.
With the full understanding of these
talent demands, you can start matching
needs with the talent available
externally and within your organization-
based on your workforce supply.
Workforce
Supply
To realize the potential of your workforce
supply, first map the external factors
that provide important context for talent
conversations happening within your
organization. Assess the labor market
for employment trends, regional growth
projections, educational trends, and
availability of diverse talent. Industry
associations are another valuable source
of talent data to support your external
research, though more rigorous analysis
of available talent in specialized areas
of expertise may be necessary.
Then, look within the organization's
existing talent pool to understand current
potential and performance. Through a
talent inventory process, gather data on
existing competency strengths and gaps
relative to strategic, diversity, and capacity
needs, as well as anticipated strengths
or gaps due to potential turnover,
promotions, and retirements. (We help
clients integrate more consistent talent
review processes in their organization so
that they can continually assess talent
strengths and gaps.) If a full workforce
analysis is required, leverage data and
analytics from your talent technology
platform (if applicable). Finally, mine
all the data for opportunities-and
focus on roles with the greatest
leverage across the organization.
Informed by the internal talent inventory
and external research, you can match
workforce supply with the organization's
talent demands. You're also ready
to identify areas of risk related to
gaps in talent availability-and then
build a plan to address the gaps.
Talent
Gaps
Promoting, developing, and hiring great
people are timeless talent strategies.
Yet what's critical and often overlooked
is pulling the thread from business
objective to talent requirements and
gaps, and then surgically focusing
promotion, development, and
hiring on what you really need.
Closing gaps between talent demands
and workforce supply requires targeted
efforts to build the talent in roles
that will have the greatest impact on
business outcomes. Focusing your
efforts will mean the right resources
are in place at the right time for future
shifts in the talent marketplace.
Promoting
Healthy, high-performing leaders focus on
the strengths of their teams (individually
and collectively) as well as considering
their unique passions, interests, and
growth goals, when creating talent
and succession plans. It's more than
performance-it's also about helping
employees connect their sense of
purpose to the organization's purpose.
Performance Matters - The Healthy, High-Performing Cultures Issue

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Performance Matters - The Healthy, High-Performing Cultures Issue
